Vanilla
by Pyjamas
Summary: Takeru and Hikari are 'just good friends'. It takes a bit of ice cream to help things along. [Takari]


**TK asked me to write a Takari fic for her (that sounds so weird) so I did and now I'm sharing it with you all. There's a bit of Daiken too, because I just couldn't resist. They're too cute. Forgive me, though; I'm a bit out of practice at writing proper fluff. At some point I'll write another Takari too, but it'll be longer. Anyway, I don't own Digimon. Have fun.**

VANILLA

Takeru put a comb through his hair a couple of times before dropping it and rushing around his room in search of one of his hats. He didn't understand how he always managed to have to look for one, as he had loads; one for every day of the week. Maybe he just wasn't all that organised. He did just tend to dump stuff wherever he felt the need and forget about it, so when he needed it he couldn't find it. With so many hats he'd have thought that impossible, but clearly it wasn't.

"Where on earth could one be?"

It was times like this that he wished he had particular places too keep things so he could find them easily, as he was late enough as it was and he still had to get there. They were all going on a picnic to make the most of the weekend and the summer sun. He had to admit, it was a beautiful day. The bright morning sunshine was streaming in through his window, bathing his room in an orangey glow. The roads weren't too loud or too busy, with only a few cars. He couldn't blame people for wanting to walk instead of drive in such nice weather. Birds were singing and occasionally one would fly past his window, making him look up and, thinking it was a person, wonder who would be crazy enough to climb all that way when they could just use the door.

"Ok, think; where did you last have a hat on?"

There wasn't a cloud in the sky; as far as Takeru was concerned, there couldn't be anything better. He had a thing for clouds. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was when he was outside enjoying the sun and then along came a huge great cloud, swallowing up all the light and most of the warmth. He was pretty sure that wouldn't happen during their picnic, but every few minutes he couldn't resist checking the sky for any signs of cloudiness. This however, important as it was, only made him even more late.

He eventually found one of his hats under a pile of dirty washing. That probably meant it needed a wash itself, but he settled for just brushing all the really obvious muck off it. No time to wash it. No time to do anything except leave. With this in mind he raced out of his apartment, stopping only to half put his shoes on. He had managed to get halfway to the elevator before he realised that he had left his bag on the table, and he couldn't really leave without it. Groaning in annoyance, he ran back to his apartment and struggled to get his key in the door.

"Oh, come on…"

The decision that they all brought food with them was almost unanimous; Daisuke had belly-ached for quite a while about not having any food to bring before they had convinced him that if he didn't he'd go hungry. Ken had pointed out that it was unfair on Miyako's parents if they constantly ate bags of free food from their convenience store, and Miyako had agreed saying she felt bad always leaving with so much food she wasn't going to pay for. Instantly Hikari suggested that they all brought food to share, and that was that. Thus, Takeru didn't have the option of leaving without his bag of assorted sandwiches, party rings and mini cakes.

Ten minutes later he could be seen by the others, running towards them. He grinned when they came into view and, running faster, waved and called out to them. "Hey guys! Sorry I'm so late!"

When he reached them he stood with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Gosh, it had been quite a while since he'd needed to run like that. Daisuke stood in the middle of the pavement, fingers laced behind his head and using one of his feet to scratch the back of his leg. He certainly did not look amused. "Could you _get_ any later?"

Takeru stood up straight, panting only a little bit now. "I lost track of time. Then I left without bringing supplies." He patted the shoulder bag at his side. "So, are we all here and accounted for?"

"We certainly are."

Hikari jumped down from the wall she had been previously sitting on, and Takeru took a good look at her for the first time that day. She looked so nice. Well, she always looked nice, but that day she looked really nice. He didn't even know why; it didn't seem like she'd done anything particularly different. Same hairstyle as usual, clothes he'd seen before. Maybe it was just the light that day, or maybe she had made an effort that he couldn't pinpoint. Either way, he gave her a hug and, holding her by the shoulders at arms length, looked her up and down. "You look different today."

She raised an eyebrow but her smile didn't falter. "Different?"

"Yeah." He continued to try and figure out what it was. "Though, I'm not sure what it is."

"Is it a good thing?" She put her hands on top of his.

"It couldn't possibly be a bad thing when it's to do with you."

She giggled, and he couldn't help but smile too. It was contagious. "Let me know what's different when you find it. By the way, is that a new shirt?"

Takeru looked down at his shirt, and it was indeed a new one. It was the first time he'd worn it apart from trying it on, and it made him happy that she'd noticed. "Yeah. Do you like it?"

Hikari smiled at him and brushed a rebellious strand of hair out of her face. "It looks really great on you."

He grinned, and Daisuke blew a raspberry causing both of them to look at him. "You two are so lovey-dovey, it makes me want to puke."

Cutting in, Miyako stepped towards them. "Without the puking part, he's right you know. And you make such a cute couple, I don't get why you won't go out."

Hikari looked at her like it was the most absurd suggestion in the world. "It's because we don't _want_ to go out."

"It's the truth." Takeru nodded. "We're just good friends and that's that."

They looked at each other and smiled while Miyako growled and raked a hand through her hair. "Could you at least save all the starry-eyed staring for a more private occasion? Some of us don't have a 'good friend' to ogle at."

Hikari giggled again. "We're sorry, Miyako." She brought her hands back down to her sides, and Takeru followed suit.

"In the meantime, don't you think we should get going?" Iori, who had been silent until this point, was getting a little concerned about the melting ice cream in his carrier bag.

Ken also decided to make himself heard. "I agree, otherwise we could be standing around here all day."

Punching the air and narrowly missing Ken's face, Daisuke shouted his approval. Takeru and Hikari both nodded, and Miyako clapped her hands together. "Let's get moving then!"

Daisuke and Ken led the way, followed by Miyako and Iori and finally Takeru and Hikari. The blonde boy looked over at the girl walking beside him and noticed how pretty she looked for a second time. She just looked so happy, and it made him smile. The way she was looking up at the sky in delight, obviously pleased that the weather was so nice, and how every now and then she would add a skip into her step. It was cute. Takeru noticed another stray hair in her face, and when she made no effort to brush it back he couldn't resist doing it for her. He noticed her blush a little and mimic his movement before he turned back to face ahead.

Hikari got the butterflies in his stomach going, that was for sure. Every time she spoke it was like any worries he had just melted away. It didn't matter how terrible his day, or week, or even month had been; when he saw her, he could just forget about it all. She was his light, and she was special, more special than anyone else he'd ever met. He wasn't sure how she did it, or whether she even knew she did it, but she put everything else out of his mind.

Oh, how he would have loved to know how she felt about him. Glancing at her again, he wondered what she was thinking. Maybe she was thinking about him? Or, on a less welcome note, maybe she was thinking about Daisuke, or Ken? That'd be bad. He didn't think he'd be able to handle it if Hikari broke something like that to him. Sure, he'd act like he was fine in front of her for her sake, but when she wasn't there…he didn't know what he'd do. A better idea was that maybe she was thinking about how much fun this picnic would be, or about how lovely the sunshine was. Yes, that was much better.

Takeru and his train of thought were literally stopped in their tracks when he walked straight into Miyako. "Why've we stopped? What've I missed?"

Daisuke turned around from his place up ahead with a better-than-thou expression on his face. "It's called a road. You stop before you cross."

Looking at his feet, Takeru felt his face going red as Miyako giggled. He couldn't believe he'd just made a fool of himself in front of Hikari like that, and he didn't dare look at her to see whether she was laughing at him too or not. Instead he was surprised when he felt her hug him from the side. "Ignore them, Takeru. Whatever you were thinking about must've been pretty important, huh?"

He decided looking at her wasn't such a risky thing to do after all, and without even the slightest hesitation he started to stroke her hair. "It wasn't that important. Just a bit consuming, you know?"

She giggled before sighing contently. "I know just what you mean."

They stood like that, her hugging him and him stroking her, until the road was clear enough for them to cross. It was somewhat frustrating for Takeru; he didn't want their contact to just stop there, and he desperately searched for something to say to her. But what could he say? Sometimes he could talk and talk and never stop, but at other times he just didn't know what to say to her. It was one of those times then; he was lost for words but wanted so badly to talk.

"Isn't it beautiful, Takeru?"

It would have been an understatement to say that he was relieved when Hikari spoke first. Needless to say, he was also pleased that he had another excuse to look at her. Not that he usually needed an excuse, but it could save unnecessary questions. "Isn't what beautiful?"

She held her arms out and twirled in circles as she walked alongside him. "Everything. The sky, the sun, the street, the birds, the people…"

He laughed and loved how carefree she was while she was spinning. "Even me?"

Her twirling stopped and she looked at him happily. "Especially you."

The expression on her face made it unclear to Takeru whether she was joking around or being sincere. Why did she have to be so difficult to read? He decided to play it safe and assume she was just playing; it'd be far less embarrassing than if he assumed she was being serious and it turned out she wasn't. He laced his fingers behind his head and grinned cheekily. "By your logic," he raised his voice, "that makes Daisuke beautiful too. You know, I've told you before about lying to make him feel better."

"Hey!" Daisuke had heard as intended, and reacted in just the way he'd been expected to. He turned around, indignant as ever, and walked backwards as he retorted. "Just because you're jealous of my good looks and charm!"

Takeru snorted at him. "Who's jealous? I could beat you in a good looks and charm match any day."

"I am going to make you eat those words!" Daisuke jumped and landed so close to Miyako that she had to move back to get breathing space. "Who's got more good looks and charm? Me or TS?"

Miyako didn't have any trouble deciding, or any trouble letting him know. "No offence Daisuke, but Takeru wins hands down."

"Wha…? I can't believe you!"

"I'm sorry Daisuke," Iori piped up, "but I'm going to have to agree with Takeru on this one."

Daisuke looked like a child who had just had his ice cream taken away. He looked at Hikari expectantly, and was disappointed when she shook her head. Pouting, he turned to the last remaining person. "Ken…"

Ken was amused by his expression, but took pity on him. "Don't worry about it. I think you're gorgeous."

Immediately Daisuke's face lit up and he attached himself to Ken's arm. He glared back at Takeru and stuck his tongue out before turning around and carrying on walking; he could be heard muttering into Ken's elbow, "At least _he_ doesn't have a hot boyfriend like you."

Takeru simply shook his head in amusement and looked at the three remaining with him. "Shall we?"

But for Takeru, it wasn't that simple. As they walked he got thinking; it was true what Daisuke had said, he didn't have a hot boyfriend. He didn't have a boyfriend at all, for that matter. Being as straight as an ironing board, this didn't bother him in the slightest. But what did bother him, albeit not enough to matter very much, was that he didn't have the girl he longed for. She was there walking beside him, and she was his best friend. She was everything he'd ever wanted, and he couldn't have her. Sure, they flirted a lot, but it was just playful. Not meant to be serious.

He sighed. It wasn't so bad, really; at least they _were _friends and he didn't have to watch her from afar without even knowing her. He didn't ever want to think about what that would be like. It would have been unbearable.

"What'cha sighing about?"

"What?" He grinned sheepishly. "It's nothing."

Taking his hand, Hikari gave him a reassuring look. "Come on, I know you better then that. I promise I won't laugh."

"You promise?"

"Yeah."

"Well…" he trailed off, wondering how he could tread carefully over the subject. He didn't want to say anything that could put their friendship at risk. "I was just thinking about what it'd be like if I'd never met you."

At first he didn't get a reply and, discouraged, decided to stare at his feet. After a while he felt her squeeze his hand. "I'm sure it couldn't be that bad."

"It'd be terrible." His answer was far too quick for him to feel comfortable with and he rushed to justify himself, waving his free hand in front of his face. "I mean, you're my best friend. I couldn't imagine life without you."

Hikari's eyes were lit up. "That's so sweet! I couldn't live without you either." She squeezed his hand again. "But you won't lose me as long as I won't lose you, right?"

He gave a small laugh and squeezed her hand back. "Right."

Like that they walked on, idly chatting between themselves, until they got to a picnic spot they had used a couple of times before in a large park. Takeru was beyond pleased when he saw it; it was breathtaking, especially in the summer, and it had been such a long time since they'd been there. There wasn't another person in sight; he presumed it was because they were all at the beach or something. The grass was lush and felt like a huge cushion underneath his feet and a river small enough to jump across cut right through the middle of the park. It was beside this river, under the shade of a tree, that Miyako decided to lay out the enormous rug she had brought. When she was done, she stood closer to the river and stretched her arms in the air.

"I missed this place so much!"

Daisuke threw himself onto the rug, promptly opened his bag and tipped it upside down. "Yeah, yeah, good times and all that. Can we eat now? I'm starving."

Folding his arms, Ken raised an eyebrow and sat next to his boyfriend. "Do you ever think about anything that isn't food?"

Daisuke tried to look positively insulted which, as he had been taking a bite out of a sandwich at the time, Takeru found funny. "Sure I do! You, and football, and video games…"

Takeru's stomach growled, probably in response to the sight of the sandwich. "I think we could all do with some lunch."

Turning around suddenly, Miyako sent a questioning look at Iori. "Hey, didn't you bring ice cream?"

As far as Iori was concerned, it was both the best and the worst thing she could possibly have said. He gasped at the reminder and rushed to sit down, fishing the small pots of half melted ice cream out of his bag and putting them down on the rug. Daisuke looked disappointed, to say the least. "Iori! Why didn't you tell us about the ice cream earlier? We could have eaten it on the way!"

"I'm sorry! I completely forgot about it!"

Miyako sighed, seating herself so that the sun was warming up her back. "At least they're in pots, right? Maybe we should eat them first, come to mention it. Then there won't be any need to worry about them melting and making a mess of my sister's rug."

"You only want to eat it first because you're a pig when it comes to dessert."

"Hey!" Offended, Miyako threw a particularly large bottle of lemonade at Daisuke's head.

"Daisuke, you're so insensitive." Hikari knelt down with them and Takeru quickly filled the space next to her.

"I for one agree with Miyako." He stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands. "I'd rather have half melted ice cream than completely melted ice cream."

Hikari nodded her agreement, resulting in Miyako sticking her tongue out at Daisuke in the most 'I told you so' way possible. He waved his hands in front of his face in defence. "Hey, I never said I disagreed…"

Looking relieved, Iori handed a pot of ice cream and a plastic spoon to each of them. "I brought you one each. They're vanilla; I figured everyone likes vanilla."

Takeru wasted no time in getting the lid off his pot and digging in; vanilla was his favourite flavour ice cream. It reminded him of the times when his family was still together because his father always used to bring home vanilla ice creams for him. He'd go mad; squealing like children that age do. But most of the time he'd have a problem getting the lid or wrapper off, and Yamato would always have to help him. If he asked Yamato to open an ice cream for him now, his older brother would eat the whole thing without a second thought. Even if he didn't, Taichi almost certainly would instead.

Good thing he could now open ice creams by himself, then. He put another spoonful into his mouth and almost tried to chew it before glancing over at Hikari to see how she was doing. Surprised to see that she was still struggling to get the lid off hers, he finished his mouthful and waved his spoon about, trying to find the words. "You want any help with that?"

Her answer sounded like it was forced through her gritted teeth as she pulled at the lid. "No thank you, Takeru…I can manage…" Seeing that her tugging wasn't working, she moved the pot in her hands and tried to pick the pesky lid off instead.

Takeru smiled fondly. He loved the way she didn't give up battling the ice cream pot, even though it was so blatantly clear that she wasn't going to win. It was really kind of cute. She never had been one to let others put themselves out for her sake, but really – it was ice cream, for heaven's sake. It would not be the end of the world if Takeru's melted a tad more, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. However cute it was. He put down his pot and held out his hand towards her. "Here, I'll open it for you."

Even when she was so thoroughly focused on opening her ice cream, Hikari still managed to protest. "Really, I can do it myself. Eat yours or it'll melt."

"I'm not eating it until yours is open." To prove his point, he folded his arms and turned his nose up at his ice cream.

She gave him a mock disapproving look. "You're being awkward."

Unfolding his arms again he gestured towards her unopened pot. "Let me open it!"

It took her a while to cooperate. She struggled for a little longer before sighing and handing it over to a very pleased Takeru, who opened it with relative ease. When she kept looking at him instead of eating it right away, he had to ask what she was looking at and she giggled.

"You have ice cream on your nose."

"Do I?" Takeru's eyes tried to go to his nose in an effort to locate the stray blob of ice cream, but he never had mastered going cross-eyed. Hikari giggled again, amused by the way he wanted to see where it was before he started randomly wiping his face. She watched him turn his head trying to see it before she couldn't resist anymore and reached out, sweeping her finger across the tip of his nose and removing the offending blob.

It surprised him a little, but not very much. Not nearly enough to render him immobile, so it wasn't difficult for him to react. When Hikari didn't withdraw her hand he made a sudden movement and caught her finger in his mouth, licking off the now warm ice cream. Her skin was so smooth.

They stayed like that for long enough to distract the others from their idle chatting before Hikari pulled her hand back and wiped her finger on her skirt. "Ew…"

He just looked at her, and when she caught his eye they both began to laugh. For Miyako this was the last straw, and she screamed at the top of her lungs. Needless to say, she shut everyone up and had everyone's undivided attention; still screaming, she made her thoughts absolutely clear. "I have had it! You two, Hikari and Takeru, are going to end up making me kill someone! You're all over each other, and it is so obvious that you fancy each other! I demand that you go out, or at least kiss, or something! Anything to stop me, and everyone else here, no doubt, going insane!"

She was pulling at her hair in an aggravated manner, and no one quite knew what to say. Iori fidgeted and stared at the rug while Daisuke and Ken looked expectantly at Takeru and Hikari. The accused were both a bit flushed; neither had foreseen Miyako's outburst, nor knew how to respond to it. Takeru gulped audibly, and peered across at Hikari to see how she was reacting. Unfortunately she was pretty much as he was – quiet and uneasy.

Their eyes met and they shared a nervous look. What exactly did Miyako want? For them to kiss, or for them to be a couple, what? Takeru glanced at Miyako and, noticing that she had calmed down considerably, decided to be the one to break the silence which had fallen over the group. "But…we're best friends."

"Yeah." He was relieved when Hikari joined in. "We can't just start dating."

"If you won't go out, can you at least just kiss or something?" Miyako had her hands clasped together to get her plea across to them. "Please, I'm going mad with frustration here. 'Best friends' aren't all over each other like you two are."

"She has a point," Daisuke chimed in, finding his voice.

Ken hesitated before adding, "I concur."

Shuffling and unsure of whether he should answer or not, Iori eventually agreed. "Me too."

Hikari looked at Takeru, and Takeru looked at Hikari. He, however, looked away before he started blushing again and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, uh…what do you think?"

"I suppose it…couldn't hurt, right?" She gave a small, anxious laugh. "I mean, we are best friends, after all."

He copied her laugh. "So…just a small one?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Ok…" He took a deep breath and leaned towards her. His heart was going so fast; he was surprised it wasn't protruding out of his ribcage. She smelled nice, like shampoo; he could feel her breath on his face and the realisation of just how close together they were dawned on him. In fact, it made him sort of sleepy. In a good way, though. It was because it was so calming and relaxing.

He swore he nearly died when their lips brushed together; all coherent thought in his brain just stopped. It was only the faintest of touches, but it was like nothing he'd ever imagined or experienced before. She was the most beautiful person in the world, and she was kissing him. He couldn't get his head around it.

It all stopped way too soon for his liking. Hikari began to pull away but he, still in his mini trance, threaded his hand in her hair and pulled her back to him. He kissed her again, harder this time and with meaning, and he was over the moon when he felt no objections from her. In fact, by the time they broke apart Hikari had been half sprawled rather unceremoniously in Takeru's lap.

An unsure cough from the outside world brought Takeru out of his trance. Daisuke had decided to follow their example and was practically smothering Ken with kisses. Iori was still fidgeting and Miyako's eyes were aglow with happiness.

"Finally! I feel so much better now! Thank you guys, you've made my day."

Takeru chuckled and turned his attention back to Hikari, who was still in his lap with her arms around him. He stroked her hair and gulped. "Um…Hikari, I was sorta wondering…" He trailed off.

"What?"

"Could I…do you think I could…" He inhaled deeply and looked her straight in the eyes. "Can I kiss you again?"

Her face broke into a huge smile and she leaned forward, closing the gap between them. If his mouth wasn't so busy he'd have smiled too, but it just wasn't worth stopping for. He wouldn't have stopped for the world.

**I'm pleased with that. I've found that Takari is pretty fun to write; I don't get confused by writing 'he' too many times in a sentence. If you review I'll love you forever.**


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